Nicholls comes up short against SLU

Saturday

Jan 12, 2013 at 12:01 AMJan 12, 2013 at 11:40 PM

HAMMOND — Nicholls State's comeback against Southeastern Louisiana came up a little short.The Colonels trailed by as many as 13 points in the second half only to rally and trail 64-63 with forward Dantrell Thomas at the free-throw line looking to complete a three-point play and tie the game.Thomas missed the free throw with a minute left to play.

Teddy RenoisStaff Writer

HAMMOND — Nicholls State's comeback against Southeastern Louisiana came up a little short.The Colonels trailed by as many as 13 points in the second half only to rally and trail 64-63 with forward Dantrell Thomas at the free-throw line looking to complete a three-point play and tie the game.Thomas missed the free throw with a minute left to play.Southeastern Louisiana came down the floor and got a jump shot from Antonio Benton that ended the Colonels' rally and eventually led to the Lions' 70-65 Southland Conference win on Saturday at the University Center.The Colonels shot 44 percent on the floor and were just 1-of 11 from the 3-point line in the game. Colonels coach J.P. Piper said the poor shooting made it difficult for his team to get into any offensive flow."If you would have told me that we were going to go 1-for-11 from behind the arc, I would've told you that we would have had a tough time winning. Looking at them, we held them to four (3-pointers) and if we make four or five we probably win," Piper said. "We can't shoot that poorly from behind the arc and that is a part of what we do. We make those shots and it stretches the defense and we didn't do a good job of shooting."The Colonels (3-11 overall, 2-2 in SLC) shooting woes lasted deep into the second half, but with the Lions leading 62-52, the Colonels offense started to click.Fred Hunter (22 points, 13 rebounds) jump started the offense with two free throws and a three-point play that cut the Lions lead to 62-57 with 2:32 left in the game.After the Lions missed a couple of shots, Thomas (14 points) came down and drove the lane for a bucket and a 64-59 score with 2:09 left.Thomas scored again after a turnover for a 64-61 score and when Nicholls forced a shot-clock violation, Thomas went to work again.Thomas drove the lane and made the basket while drawing contact. However, Thomas didn't complete the three-point play leaving the Lions with a one-point lead.That is when Benton decided to pull up and shoot a 20-foot jumper that went in and put Southeastern Louisiana up 67-63 with 41 seconds left to play.The Colonels were forced to foul after that bucket and the Lions made 3-of-6 from the free throw line in the final 26 seconds to get the five-point win.Thomas, who made the Colonels only 3-pointer with 7:51 to play in the second half, said the Lions did play well on defense, but it was Colonels missing too many shots that led to the defeat."They communicated well, but we just have to make shots and finish. We also didn't communicate on defense at the end of the game," Thomas said. "We just couldn't get the shots to fall. We also didn't get a couple of calls, but it is on us and we have to finish. A 19-6 run gave the Lions (5-9, 3-1) the lead in the first half.Nicholls took its final lead of the game at 8-6 after Hunter scored with 14:19 on the clock.Trailing 8-7, the Lions took the lead on Todd Nelson's 3-pointer, then Brandon Fortenberry (21 points) added a bucket for a 12-8 lead with 12:11 left on the clock.After Nicholls got two free throws from Shane Rillieux, Benton scored to put SLU up 14-10 with 11:20 on the clock.After Benton's basket, the Lions outscored Nicholls 11-4 to complete the run for a 25-14 lead with 7:57 on the clock.Nicholls did respond before halftime with an 11-4 run that made it a 29-25 score with 1:03 left, but SLU got a basket and two free throws from Jeffery Ricard to take a 33-25 lead at halftime.Jeremy Smith finished with 19 points for the Colonels, while Roosevelt Johnson had 14 points and 14 rebounds for the Lions.

NICHOLLS 71, SOUTHEASTERN LOUISIANA 65 (WOMEN)At Hammond, Nicholls lost lead only to respond in the final two minutes of the game with a 10-4 run to propel the Colonels to a 71-65 Southland Conference win over Southeastern Louisiana at the University Center on Saturday.The Colonels (11-4 overall, 3-1 in SLC) held several double-digit leads in the second half, only to see SLU tie the game with four minutes left to play.After SLU tied the game, KK Babin showed her range and drained consecutive 3-pointers from well past 25 feet. Those 3-pointers regained the momentum for the Colonels as Nicholls sealed the win at the free throw line. Babin finished the game with 14 points and nine assists."(Those shots) is just a testament to what she brings to the game. (Babin) has ice water in her veins and her hitting those 3's was her saying she had enough of this," Nicholls coach DoBee Plaisance said. "We were frustrated and lost our focus on the details. That is what a KK Babin does for you, she is intangible squared. She got us focused on the details and we finished it out. We had some good possessions down the stretch then we made our free throws. If we don't make those free throws we don't win this game. Anywhere you play in the Southland is tough and we outlasted them. I give my praise to God and KK Babin."The Colonels led 40-31 to start the second half and on three occasions pushed the lead over double digits holding a 50-40 advantage with 11:48 left in the game.SLU (7-8, 0-4) started to chip away and eventually tied the game at 55 after Elizabeth Styles scored with 4:02 left in the game.Babin hit her consecutive 3's to put Nicholls up 61-57, but SLU rallied again to tie the game at 61 with 2:04 left.With the threat of Babin knocking down 3's, it spread the Lions defense and Babin took advantage of it. Babin dished the ball under the goal to Alisha Allen (18 points, 10 rebounds) for a 63-61 lead.With the score 65-63, Babin took her defender off the dribble to score for a 67-63 lead with 30 seconds left to play.Nicholls made 9-of-11 from the free throw line in the game and in the final 10 seconds, Emani White and Jenny Nash each made two free throws to seal the win. In the first half, the Colonels used an 11-4 run to break an 8-8 tie for a 19-12 lead.Nicholls took its largest lead of the first half at 34-24 when Babin scored with 4:01 on the clock. Jasmine Scott finished with 13 points, while LiAnn McCathy had 15 points for the Colonels.

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